Speak2Mehttp://www.speak2me.co.za
Inclusion through communicationFri, 15 Dec 2017 17:18:55 +0000en-UShourly1What Device Should I Purchasehttp://www.speak2me.co.za/what-device-should-i-purchase/
Thu, 31 May 2012 08:00:48 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=1228Continue reading →]]>We are often approached by clients with something like this, “My child needs a communication device, what do you think of the iPad?” We then need to work through with them the idea, that this is the wrong question to ask and that selecting a communication device has a number of other steps in it first. Hopefully this article will help if you are in this position.

Step 1: Physical Access to the device

Firstly it needs to be established how the user will access the device. Can they use a standard mouse and keyboard, touchscreen. Do they need head or eye control? Switch activated scanning with a screen reader? This will be worked through with the AAC therapist and will have a bearing on the devices and other accessories to be selected.

Step 2: Dedicated Device or Non-Dedicated Device
A Dedicated Device is a device manufactured for a specific communication need, has little expansion or upgrade opportunities. They were popular in the early days of AAC before personal computers, laptops and tablets became as prolific as now. Although they have their place, we are not generally proponents of these systems and favour the Non-Dedicated Devices.

A Non-Dedicated Device is the combination of a computer running appropriate communication software. They are expandable, can grow with the user becoming not only a means of communication but also a powerful life facilitator as they switch on lights, TV’s, sprinkler systems and act as a platform for further communication being able to phone, send SMS’s and then progress into the world of work. We also find the Non-Dedicated Devices are better value for money.

We break them down into 5 groups of Non-Dedicated Devices.
Tablet: Lightweight, usually good battery life, touch access and very mobile. Lacks expansion and power. Small screen.
Netversable: The power and functionality of a laptop with the touch access of a tablet. It converts from a netbook to a tablet with the screen turning round to hide the keys. Little heavier, with mixed battery life. Has the functionality but still small screen.
Laptop: Powerful fully functional computers. Lower battery life, heavy to carry all day, but with larger screens. Touch access is difficult and not recommended.
Desktop PC: Powerful and fully functional, with no mobility and no longer holding their price advantage over laptops their uses are limited.
All in One PC (AIO): Fairly new to the market, touch access desktop PC’s. Although no mobility they can work really well to allow the whole family access to the PC offering inclusion to all.

Step 3: Communication SoftwareThere is a lot of communication Software on the market, especially with the plethora of tablet Apps that are being produced these days. Sadly a large number of them are made with very little AAC theory in mind, have limited expansion and are great, if you are an abled bodied user. When selecting a Non-Dedicated device, first find communication software that will meet your needs and then find a platform that will run that software. We generally use The Grid 2 as our communication software but there are also other good options out there. With our focusing on The Grid 2 we generally recommend Windows based platforms. Although the Grid Player does allow usage on other devices, it is limited and cannot offer full functionality at this stage.

Step 4: Mobility
What level of Mobility does the user require. If the user is wheelchair bound why pay for the expense of a tablet, when a cheaper laptop will suffice. If fairly mobile a tablet may be better as a laptop can get quite heavy to lug around. If the only interaction needed is at a desk, then the added cables of a desktop will be fine while the new All in one PC’s are great for family or class room inclusion, with everyone taking part.

The Toughbook had a bad day. Read about it’s encounter with a Tiger, and Elephant and a .22 hand gun.

Step 5: Ruggedness
If the user has good motor control, then a standard consumer level device like a tablet or laptop will be fine. If however the occasional involuntary bash, swipe off the table or drop are inevitable, you will need to weigh up the extra expense against something a little tougher. Rugged Tablets and Laptops are available from a little tougher to James Bond used me in a bar fight option. We have tried to include a range of these in our Non-Dedicated devices section.

So what do we think of the iPad?
Although a pioneer in it’s time, let’s be honest, there is a large element of fashion involved, and these days it is merely a front runner, with lots of competitors. Yes it may have it’s uses, but as a Non-Dedicated device, we believe that there are a number of other options out there that offer better value for money, with greater expansion and longevity of use.

]]>Understanding our Rating Systemhttp://www.speak2me.co.za/understanding-our-rating-system/
http://www.speak2me.co.za/understanding-our-rating-system/#respondThu, 31 May 2012 08:00:14 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=1222Continue reading →]]>When trying to choose a device to run communication software (like The Grid 2) one can, very quickly, get lost in numbers and techie code names (like Intel Atom Z670). So after a little research, we have devised a rating system designed to simplify the process and enable at a glance comparisons, in your quest to find a device that suits you. It should be remembered that these are guidelines of what the devices should be able to withstand, however none of the manufacturers guarantee against them.

Processor SpeedComparing processors is very complicated. So, to avoid lots of boring techie stuff, we have decided to use the Passmark CPU Benchmarks, which tests processors and then gives them a Processor Passmark, to enable comparisons. Our star system gives one star for each 250 Passmarks. Thus an 8 star Passmark will be over 2000.

A one star Processor should be good enough to run The Grid 2 or another communication package, surf the web, email and do other basic computing tasks. They will also play music and video, although they will start to struggle if you ask them to do it at the same time. Most users will actually get along fine with a one star processor
A three to five star Processor should handle all your computing needs unless you are into video editing and internet gaming where you are up against other players. Most multi-tasking will be fine.
An eight to ten star Processor is a high end consumer processor and will suit the most demanding of users. Most likely if you need this kind of processing power (or more) then you probably know enough about computers to not need to read this article.

Although Processor speed is a measure of a computer system, RAM, Hard drive type, the Graphics Card, and Chipset combination also play a large part in how your system performs.

Drop HeightMost drop height tests are from a specified height onto concrete, although some of them feel sorry for the device and put a piece of plywood down to cushion the blow. Most of the tests are conducted while the device is not operating, but should give an indication of how robust the machine is. Drop Height resilience is obtained by device material choice, package design and internal and external cushioning of the device.

Remember that if you have a traditional hard drive that is operational during the drop, or it falls on the screen, these ratings lose value. However a 4 hammer rating should be able to withstand a number of swipes off the table, or a drop when walking, the most common types of accidents.

Water Resistance
The water and dust resistance rating are combined in the IP (Ingress Protection) rating. the first number being that of solid objects, the second of water.

0 drops – No protection.
1 drops – 10 minutes of dripping water vertically, equivalent of 1mm of rain, has no effect.
2 drops – 10 minutes of dripping water 15 degress from the normal, equivalent of 3mm of rain has no harmful effect.
3 drops – 5 minutes of water sprayed at any angle up to 60° from the vertical shall have no harmful effect. 0.7 liters per minute.
4 drops – 5 minutes of water sprayed from any direction shall have no harmful effect. 10 liters per minute.
5 drops – 3 minutes of a water jet from any direction shall have no harmful effect. 12.5 liters per minute.
6 drops – 3 minutes of a powerful water jet from any direction shall have no harmful effect. 100 liters per minute.
7 and 8 do not feature on our rating as they are total immersion numbers and have no real bearing on our needs.

An IPx2 rating should be able to deal with any drooling that may occur on a machine, presuming it is on the screen and not in one of the ports or holes. IPx4 ratings are probably better should you expect to get caught in the rain or spill the odd drink or two over the machine through involuntary actions.

Dust resistance
The water and dust resistance rating are combined in the IP (Ingress Protection) rating. the first number being that of solid objects, the second of water.
0 – No protection against solid objects.
1 – Protection against objects >50mm, such as a hand or other body part.
2 – Protection against objects >12.5mm such as fingers.
3 – Protection against objects >2.5mm such as tools and thick wires.
4 – Protection against objects >1mm such as wires.
5 – Protection against dust harming the machine, although not dust tight.
6 – Dust tight, often quoted as “medical grade”.

We have included this, as it is part of the IP rating, however for most devices it is not important as most consumer products will be an acceptable 4 or 5 anyway and don’t really need to be a 6 for normal daily use.

Battery Life
Usually quoted by manufacturers as “up to” the number of hours advertised. This is because power usage is variable, depending on what you are doing with the machine. Playing videos, will use far more power than reading an email. Battery life also decreases with time and age of battery and will need to be replaced after some time.

Each bar on the battery rating equates to 2 hrs of battery life. Most suppliers give 4 – 10 hours battery life, viewing that this is a full day’s work. You will need to decide what will suit your needs, and how often you are wanting to charge the device. A spare battery is always useful, with some devices allowing battery replacement without switching the device off, called ‘hot swapping’.

Traditional battery suppliers like Energizer are also supplying portable power supplies these days. Essentially they are rechargeable batteries using the same technology as the laptop batteries, but can fit onto any device using variable tips. They can be used to charge the device, cellphone, or any other portable electronic item. Please see our battery section for more information.

]]>http://www.speak2me.co.za/understanding-our-rating-system/feed/0New technology – Tongue drive systemhttp://www.speak2me.co.za/new-technology-tongue-drive-system/
Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:41:28 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=1077Continue reading →]]>It is always interesting to read about new developments in the technology sector. There is so much research being done to try and make life easier for disabled individuals, with technology such as eye control, head control and now ….tongue control. So I though I would give you a little info on what is happening on the tongue control side.

Dental Retainer

Tongue control is still very much in the research stage but some say that is becoming more and more of a reality already. Basically what is being done at the Georgia Institute of Technology at the moment, is that they are attaching a magnet to the tongue of the user and the

Universal interface for the intraoral Tongue Drive System that attaches directly to a standard electric wheelchair. The interface boasts multiple functions: it not only holds the iPod, but also wirelessly receives the sensor data and delivers it to the iPod, connects the iPod to the wheelchair, charges the iPod, and includes a container where the dental retainer can be placed at night for charging. ( Credit: Maysam Ghovanloo)

user then also wears a small dental retainer with embedded sensors. These sensors track the movement of the magnet and send signals wirelessly to a computer or electrical wheelchair. This will allow the user control the computer with their tongue, much like one is able to control a computer with a mouse. The software will allow one to program as many commands as an individual can comfortably remember.

The Georgia Institute of Technology have already tested an earlier head set version (instead of the dental retainer) on individuals with high spinal cord lesions. During trials individuals have had to use the Tongue Drive System to operate a computer and navigate an electric wheelchair through an obstacle course. The next phase will be to test the new dental retainer with these individuals, as although the previous system worked well, it was too big and obvious and tended to move, therefore requiring repetitive recalibration.

]]>Press Release: Open Mic Nighthttp://www.speak2me.co.za/press-release-open-mic-night/
http://www.speak2me.co.za/press-release-open-mic-night/#respondSat, 28 Jan 2012 14:24:42 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=899Continue reading →]]>We thought that we ought to release a press statement before the rumours got out of hand. Yes it is true that a number of the Speak2Me toys did leave the premises and attend an Open Mic Night at a local establishment. We have severely reprimanded Cool Monkey for his part in talking all the other toys into it.

The reports that some of the toys were inebriated are completely false. Duckie always looks like that while Dancing Cow just gave her all in her performance, did a stage dive and got knocked out in the process. None of the toys were hurt and the owner of the establishment phoned us to assure us that our toys had behaved well.

Although we do not condone this kind of behaviour we have been led to believe that our toys put on quite a show and were big hits with the locals. Some of the patrons even took videos of the toys doing their stuff and have posted them on YouTube, so we thought we would put them up here.

]]>http://www.speak2me.co.za/press-release-open-mic-night/feed/0Eye controlhttp://www.speak2me.co.za/eye-control/
http://www.speak2me.co.za/eye-control/#respondMon, 23 Jan 2012 21:40:24 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=873Continue reading →]]>Eye control, how does it work and why is it so good!

A young man using an eye control system outside

An eye control system uses a specialised camera to track the movement of your eye. The camera follows your pupil movement from a distance of up to 1 meter. This then transmitted to your computer, where a software program calculates and transfers the coordinates of the area viewed. The camera’s and software used today, are so fast that the mouse pointer moves smoothly across your screen.

Through the eye-control systems, one is able to move the cursor on your screen, left click and right click, thereby acquiring 100% control of your computer.

This might not sound like much to you, but to an AAC user this may be the answer to unlock themselves from their bodies and join society. Once the user has computer access they can get an audible voice, they can use the telephone to communicate, they can access the Internet, they can switch on their TV, they can switch on the aircon and much more.

All of this they can do without any help from anyone else…and that is what counts!

To give you a better idea of what eye control looks like, I have added a couple of interesting videos. Some of then look more at the system and others focus on the person and the independence they gain. I hope that they are of value to you and help you understand eye control a little better.

]]>http://www.speak2me.co.za/eye-control/feed/0Make me look cool, Mom!http://www.speak2me.co.za/make-me-look-cool-mom/
http://www.speak2me.co.za/make-me-look-cool-mom/#respondWed, 28 Dec 2011 20:16:12 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=796Continue reading →]]>Disabled children are often up in a wheelchair and find it difficult to integrate with classmates, who are running around, sitting on the floor and playing games on the playground. By making them cool, we draw their friends to them, allow them to integrate and thereby change their lives.

It is so important for disabled children to look cool. They are already at a disadvantage, with a body that does not function the way they want it to or a body that does not look the way other peoples bodies do…but there is a lot that we can do to make them look cool.

Here are some ideas….

1. Drooling is a huge problem in disabilityLook at options for medication or medical operations to turn saliva glands around and therefby decrease the amount of drooling.

Fun Bandanna

Instead of wearing a bib, why not use a cool looking bandanna

2. Wheelchairs

Amber in her beautiful butterfly chair!

When looking at a new wheelchair, find one that lets you see the person and not the wheelchair. As an added bonus it is lovely to have something on your wheelchair that will draw people to you. Something fun, something different or something of interest. Here is a look at what Amber has done with her wheelchair.

3. Cool stuff

Singing, dancing dolls

Young children love cool stuff, especially if it is electronic, moves and has music. There are some great toys that you can give your child to take for a show and tell at school. This will allow your child to be part of the activity that everyone else does every morning in circle time and also get their peers to come to them and engage with them. Just make sure it is nice and hardy to withstand little fingers.

4. All by my self

It is really cool when young children can show off to their peers and do things all by themselves. Getting toys, remote control cars, etc switch activated gives your child the opportunity to show off what they can do…and there is nothing like the smile on the face of a child who is proud of themselves.

5. The computer/Tablet PC

And of course, there is nothing as cool as having a tablet PC or computer to do your school work on….but we will leave this discussion for another day!

]]>http://www.speak2me.co.za/make-me-look-cool-mom/feed/0Core words – what are they and why so important!http://www.speak2me.co.za/core-words-what-are-they-and-why-so-important/
http://www.speak2me.co.za/core-words-what-are-they-and-why-so-important/#respondSun, 11 Dec 2011 20:05:24 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=784Continue reading →]]>Core words are what we also call high frequency words. This means that, through extensive research of people’s natural speech it was found that 80% of the time we use the same basic “core words.” This list of core words is made up of a list of basic words that number in the hundreds.

The other words that we use, we call fringe vocabulary or extended vocabulary. These are only used 20% of the time.

In creating an AAC system, people sometimes call whatever words they choose to put on the system the child’s “core vocabulary” even if those words are mainly personal names, specific toys, special places or foods. Doing this may give you the impression that the board is great, as it has been customised for the the child, but actually you are limiting the child’s vocabulary by giving them mainly “fringe” words. Your child will then not have access to the words that are used 80% of the time and will struggle to communicate with others, build sentences and develop language.

This is a little video to illustrate the importance of core words.

]]>http://www.speak2me.co.za/core-words-what-are-they-and-why-so-important/feed/0Graham Clarkehttp://www.speak2me.co.za/graham-clarke/
http://www.speak2me.co.za/graham-clarke/#respondMon, 07 Nov 2011 20:22:25 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=699Continue reading →]]>This is a story of inspiration for all parents, therapists and AAC users. Graham, who suffered a major stroke as a young man, refused to give up. Through his strong determination and the support from his parents Graham took the journey into the world of AAC. One that has not always been easy but as he says, one that, “has changed his life.” He is able to express his thoughts independantly, have conversations, use the internet and deliver speeches.

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]]>http://www.speak2me.co.za/graham-clarke/feed/0I can…http://www.speak2me.co.za/i-can/
http://www.speak2me.co.za/i-can/#respondFri, 04 Nov 2011 20:09:03 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=741Continue reading →]]>These are some of the video clips that I think of when I think of the words, “I can.”

Isn’t it absolutely beautiful? If your child, sibling or parent loves dancing, why not go to dance classes and join in. You may not do it all in exactly the same way that everyone else in the class does it but …you can. You can participate,you can join the community around you and most of all you can have fun.

]]>http://www.speak2me.co.za/i-can/feed/0Seating course at Western Cape Rehab Centre (WCRC)http://www.speak2me.co.za/seating-course-at-western-cape-rehab-centre-wcrc/
http://www.speak2me.co.za/seating-course-at-western-cape-rehab-centre-wcrc/#respondTue, 25 Oct 2011 15:05:56 +0000http://www.speak2me.co.za/?p=721Continue reading →]]>This is a course for therapists, assistants, nursing staff and doctors. Having just done this course in October. I would recommend it to anyone working with individuals who require any type of wheelchair. It is an extremely well run course that dives straight into the practical application of the theory. Sessions of theory are always backed by practical application, which ranges from physically sitting in wheelchairs and trying them out to feel how the different chairs respond, to working with clients choosing chairs, altering them and seating them appropriately.

Basic Seating Course 2011

Working in AAC myself, I can’t stress enough the importance of obtaining a good position in your wheelchair. Not only does it prevent major complications (such as pressure sores, deformities, lung infections etc), but it is the starting point of all I do, because good seating is the door to good communication. Once the individual is seated correctly it is as though the door has opened.